Queen Mother Was Abhorrent On Princess Diana's Collusion With Andrew Morton 

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Queen Mother on \'abhorrent\' Diana, Princess of Wales

The late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, reacted with "utter abhorrence" to Diana, Princess of Wales\'s decision to "wash the dirty linen in public" by disclosing details of the breakdown of her marriage.

Princess Diana Princess of Wales with Prince Harry and The Queen Mother Trooping The Colour Photo: TOM STODDARD

An official biography published today describes how Queen Elizabeth was "deeply shocked" when it emerged that Princess Diana had collaborated with Andrew Morton on the book

Diana: Her True Story, which caused a sensation when it was published 17 years ago.

She was also dismayed by the Prince of Wales\'s decision to discuss his private life with the broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby for a TV programme in which he admitted he had been unfaithful.

Queen Elizabeth revealed her thoughts about her grandson\'s divorce in a series of previously unpublished interviews with Sir Eric Anderson, the former Provost of Eton College, which were made available to the biographer William Shawcross.

"It is always a mistake to talk about your marriage," she told Mr Anderson, who spent a total of 20 hours interviewing her.

Details of Queen Elizabeth\'s thoughts on the Royal divorce are contained in Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: The Official Biography, which was commissioned by the Queen.

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In 1992, Andrew Morton\'s book disclosed that the Princess of Wales had attempted suicide on at least five occasions in the 1980s, suffered from bulimia and felt rejected both by Prince Charles and other members of the Royal family, including the Queen.

At the time of its publication, it was rumoured that the Princess herself had helped Mr Morton with the book, and after her death in 1997 Mr Morton confirmed that the Princess had indeed been the main source, and had even checked the proofs of the book for accuracy.

In 1995 the Princess recorded a Panorama interview in which she talked about the Prince of Wales\'s affair with the then Camilla Parker Bowles, saying: "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded."

Mr Shawcross notes: "(Queen Elizabeth) had been sympathetic to both the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of York over the enormous pressures they faced from the media. But the washing of dirty linen in public was utterly abhorrent to Queen Elizabeth.

"Her entire life was based upon obligation, discretion and restraint. The Princess\'s public rejection of her husband and his life was contrary to everything that Queen Elizabeth believed and practised. She also regretted it when Prince Charles discussed his private life in a wide-ranging series of interviews with Jonathan Dimbleby."

Queen Elizabeth talked to her daughter, the Queen, "almost daily" at that time, knowing she was "distraught" at the breakdown of three of her children\'s marriages. The Princess Royal had divorced in April 1992, and The Duke and Duchess of York were also having problems in their doomed relationship. "Is the Queen all right?" she would ask members of the Household.

Her revulsion at the Princess of Wales\'s decision to go public contrasts sharply with the warm welcome she gave the then Lady Diana Spencer when she and the Prince of Wales became engaged in 1981. She gave Lady Diana a sapphire and diamond brooch as an engagement present. Lady Diana thought it a "staggering gift" and told her: "I have never owned piece of jewellery like that and will be proud to wear it when I\'m with Charles - I only hope that I\'ll be able to do it justice...one of the nicest things of being married to Charles is that I will be able to see more of you!"

Privately, however, Queen Elizabeth was concerned that Diana was struggling to adjust to the pressure she was under. She told Sir John Johnston, the comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain\'s Office who was in charge of protocol for the wedding: "I think she\'s having difficultly finding her way."

After the wedding the Princess of Wales wrote to Queen Elizabeth to thank her for letting her stay at Clarence House on the night before the wedding.

"I will try my hardest to make your grandson happy and give him all the love and support he needs and deserves," she wrote. "I still can\'t get over how lucky I am and it will take me the rest of my life to recover!"

In her interviews with Sir Eric, Queen Elizabeth told him she did not understand Princess Diana\'s decision to give up most of her charitable

works following the divorce. "I can\'t believe she won\'t come out and do some things," she said. "I may perhaps bully her into doing things. It\'s no good sitting back. Your devoir, your duty. There we are back again. It\'s the same old thing. Your devoir."

Queen Elizabeth learnt of the Princess\'s death in 1997 in a note written by the Queen, given to her when she awoke at Birkhall, on the Balmoral estate. After attending the funeral in London, she immediately returned to Birkhall, to join friends who had already been invited to stay. "Characteristically she said very little about it to her guests," Mr Shawcross says.

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